tchoubritch etal



Aug. 1959 M. TCHOUBRITCH ETAL 2,899,686

RAPID PRIMING SIPHON FOR WATER FLUSHING TANKS.

Filed lay 17,1957 3 Sheets-Sheet l mvsu'roks Georges -7r-roir X/JY;

United States Patent Office 2,899,686 Patented Aug. 18, 1959 RAPID PRIlVIlNG SIPHON FOR WATER F LUSHIN G TANKS Application May 17, 1957, Serial No. 659,944

4 Claims. (Cl. 4-42) A well known type of siphon for water flushing tanks comprises a chamber provided with a tubular element which rests on a seat at the bottom of the tank, with which it forms a water-tight joint. The seat is formed on the inner end of the connection to which the flushing pipe is attached. The tubular element is lifted'by means of a suitable lever to provide the priming necessary to initiate flushing. 7

Such a device has a serious defect. In the long run, after the device has been in service for a certain length of time, the inner wall of the tank and the elements with which it is equipped are covered by a more or less thick deposit which prevents the seat from properly contacting the tubular' portion of the siphon, thus causing undesirable leakage.

There are also siphons which consists of curved flexible tubes, which are primed by immersing them in the water of the tank, by pressure and vertical deformation, the siphon returning to its original position by virtue of its own resilience, as soon as the pressure ceases.

Siphons of this type permit the elimination of the valve plug at the bottom of the tank with which chamber type siphons of the type hereinbefore described are necessarily provided. On the other hand, they are relatively slow starting.

The object of our invention is to provide a rapid action siphon which eliminates the inconvenience inherent in the siphons hereinbefore described.

This new siphon which may be used in connection with tanks of any type, is characterized by the fact that it comprises in combination a rigid bottomless chamber of durable material and a flexible vertical priming tube fixed at one end to the outlet connection, and extending upwardly into the tank where it upper end is attached to the inside of the roof of said chamber. The upper end of the tube extends above the level of the water in the tank with a small margin of safety to spare, and is attached to the chamber roof in such a way as to leave a free passageway between the chamber roof and the upper rim of the tube. The outflow of the water is started quickly by totally immersing the siphon by inclining it with respect to the vertical by means of an appropriate control member which pivots about the point at which the lower end of the flexible tube is attached to the tank bottom.

In one of its preferred embodiments, the siphon constituting the invention has the following characteristic features, taken singly or in combination:

(1) Its chamber is provided with an opening covered by an apron of impermeable and elastic material which permits the pivotal movement of th: flexible tube which is necessary for priming to be accommodated within the space available in the tank.

(2) The elastic apron covering the opening in the chamber is removably attached to the chamber, for example, by introducing its vertical edges into slides provided on the sides of the chamber adjacent the opening.

(3) A clip or analogous clamping member provided with a suitable guard is positioned at the base of the flexible priming tube so that the guard prevents the elastic apron from passing through the opcning in the chamber and becoming plastered against the lower part of the tube at the time of priming and during the flushing of the water.

(4) The flexible priming tube comprises a non-rust.- ing torsional coil spring covered by a sheath made of an elastic material, the lower end of which serves as a sealing means for the connection passing through the bottom of the tank.

In order that the object of the invention may be more readily understood, a specific embodiment thereof will now be described, as shown on the accompanying drawings, purely by way of example, and without limiting the scope of the invention to the specific details thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the elements constituting this embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section, on a somewhat smaller scale than Fig. 1, showing the siphon constituting the invention in its vertical or rest position;

Fig. 3 shows the siphon in its inclined or primary position; and

Fig. 4 shows the siphon after it has returned to vertical position after starting the flushing operation.

By referring to the drawings it will be seen that the siphon constituting the invention comprises a coupling 1 provided with a smooth upper rim 2 and a threaded portion 3 separated by a collar 4. One of the ends of a torsional coil spring 5 made of a non-corroding metal is fixed to the rim '2. The free end of this spring is bent at 6 about a pin 7 or some similar attaching means.

The spring 5 is covered by a flexible impermeable sheath 8, sealingly attached as a consequence of its own elasticity to the collar 4, and is held in place by means of a gripping clip 9 provided with an extension 10, the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained.

The spring 5 and its sheath 8 are covered by a bottomless chamber 12, to which both are attached, together with the lever 13, by means of the pin 7.

An opening 14 is provided in the wall of the chamber 12 and is covered by an elastic membrane 15 in the form of a hood detachably mounted thereon by engagement of its edges 15a and 15b (which may be suitably reinforced) in the slides 16 (Fig. 1) which are mounted on two of the edges of the chamber 12.

A counter-weight 17 may optionally be positioned at any suitable point on the chamber 12 in order to facilitate the return of the assembly to its normal position.

The siphon constructed in this manner is clamped to the bottom of the flush tank 18 by means of the two washers 19 and 20 and a nut 21, the lower end of the elastic sheath 8 completely covering the collar 4 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4), and thus serving to seal the joint.

The siphon is controlled by means of a chain 22 attached to the end of the lever 13 which passes through the grommet 23 in the tank 18, and terminates in a handle 24.

When at rest, the water supply stands, in both the tank 18 and the chamber 12, at its normal level X-X, which is below the free ends of the sheath 8 by a margin of safety 8a. When the chain 22 is pulled in the direction indicated by the arrow F (Fig. 2), the siphon assembly takes the inclined position shown in Fig. 3, with the membrane 15 pushed up where it bears against the bottom of the tank. The water in the chamber 12 is simultaneously forced vigorously into the interior of the flexible element 5-8, and travels toward the outlet tube 25 (arrow F thus instantaneously initiating the flow therein, since no air column opposes this action.

When the chain 22 is released (Fig. 4) the spring 5 its .9 and counter-Weight 17 return the siphon to its initial vertical position, shown in Fig. 4, but since the water then fills the volume 12a above the free end 8a of the sheath 8, water continues to flow in the siphon (as indicated by the arrow =F until the level of the Water in :the tank 18 has fallen too low for the siphon to draw.

It should be noted that when flow begins in the siphon, and while it continues the membrane 15 is prevented by the extension 10 from being drawn by the suction of the Water through the opening 14 against the lower part of the sheath 8 Where it would interfere with the proper functioning of the apparatus.

Of course, as soon as the flushing action ceases, the tank is automatically refilled by conventional means, such as the tap 26, with the regulable float 26a.

It will, of course, be appreciated that this specific embodiment has been described purely by Way of illustration and the structural details thereof may be modified Without thereby departing from the basic principles of my invention as set forth in the following claims.

What We claim is:

l. A quick-starting siphon for a flush tank of the type provided with an outlet in its bottom, comprising in combination a flexible priming tube vertically positioned in said tank and permanently sealed at its lower end to said outlet to form therewith a cotninuous fluid impervious passageway, the upper end of said tube being open and lying above the normal level of the water in said tank, a rigid bottomless chamber within said tank having sidewalls which encircle and overlap said tube with their lower edges lying below normal level of the water in said tank, said chamber being closed at the top and attached to said tube by means spacing the top of said chamber from the upper end of said tube to provide a passageway therebetween, the volume of said chamber outside said tube being greater than that of said tube, and means for bending said tube laterally to immerse its upper end, thereby priming said siphon, said bending means comprising means fixed to said chamber for pivoting said chamber and the upper end of said tube about the point at which said tube is attached to said outlet.

2. A siphon .as claimed in claim 1 in which there is a gap in the lower edge of the sidewall of said chamber to- Ward which it is adapted to pivot, .said gap being covered by an apron of impermeable elastic material which permits the pivotal movement of said tube which is required to prime the siphon to be accommodated within the space available in said tank by yielding when said bending brings it into contact with the interior wall of said tank.

3. A siphon as claimed in claim 2 in which a fixed guard is mounted at the base of the flexible tube in a position athwart the opening in said chamber between said apron and tube which blocks saidelastic apron from being driven through said opening in the chamber into contact with said flexible tube when water is flowing into and through said tube.

4. A siphon as claimed in claim 1 in which said flexible tube consists of a rust-proof coil spring covered by a flexible sheath.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 399,506 Dwyer Mar. 12, 1889 1,077,329 Cabral Nov. 4, 1913 1,203,106 Fulton Oct. 31, 1916 1,335,715 Scheier Mar. 30, 1920 

